This invention relates generally to dental floss threaders, and more particularly concerns dental floss threaders used in conjunction with cleaning beneath fixed bridgework and difficult to reach areas within the mouth.
Dental floss is used to clean teeth, especially in those areas between teeth which cannot be reached by an ordinary toothbrush. In some areas of the mouth and in situations where fixed bridges and jacket crown are present it is often difficult, however, to slide and maneuver the dental floss into and under the area to be cleaned. The thread-like nature of most dental flosses produces this handling difficulty since the thread does not have the structure to be inserted in the hard to reach places.
One of the techniques to overcome this shortfall is the use of a threading device which threads the dental floss under the bridges and between crowns and the like. A number of threading devices are known and available to accomplish the insertion of dental floss into difficult areas in the mouth. Generally, the known dental floss threaders are needle-like in appearance, with a long, slender, usually flat shank portion with an eyelet, loop or "v" wedge at one end. These threaders are somewhat rigid in structure, but are smoothly surfaced so that they may be easily slipped and guided into the areas to be cleaned. To be used, dental floss is strung into the eyelet of the threader and looped therethrough; the threader then is inserted into the area to be cleaned, pulling the dental floss with it so that the floss can be used for its intended purpose.
It has been found that merely looping the dental floss in and around the eyelet often does not maintain the floss securely during use, and that slipping of the floss results. This and other deficiencies in the known dental floss threaders indicate that there is further need for improvement in this field.